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Monday, October 31, 2016

Editor's Note: Pikes Peak Writers has two of the most knowledgeable marketing people serving as our publicity volunteers. We are honored to have them because they often make sense of social media where some of us can't. S.M. Rose is one of these experts. Here's his first blog on Writing From the Peak.

By: S.M. Rose

With a series of thin plots and an extra
helping of ad-lib comedy, Hope and Crosby paired up in their legendary “Road
to” flicks, inevitably meeting up with the eye-catching Dorothy Lamour. Though
predictable, these movies provided more than a decade of entertainment that is
now entrenched in American film culture.

Prologue

More than four years ago, I began my own “Road
to” journey. Unlike Bob and Bing, there was no partner in crime nor fetching
femme fatale. These existed only in my manuscript. I felt the writing process was
one best served alone, or at least only shared with those shadowy voices inside
one’s head. I would close my man cave door, sit down, and start madly typing
away. Or I would sneak some “me” time, daydreaming about the next scene or chapter,
or maybe other books to be. Sound familiar?

Through this rite, I cobbled together more than
188,000 words in a little over nine months. In reading my family the
manuscript, we all agreed the story should sell so I promptly went to find an
agent.

Act I

Though green as moss, I was smart enough to
check the Internet first. I knew I needed a synopsis and a query letter, and I
attacked these challenges as I did my book. Alone.

From a local newspaper article, I found a list
of literary agencies and subbed to each of them, one by one. The 2013 Canadian landscape
was far different than its American counterpart. There were only about a dozen
well-known agencies, and most wanted exclusivity when it came to their snail
mail submissions. This made the process long, laborious, and frustrating. After
a year, I exhausted that list without success.

Undaunted, I meandered outside my comfort zone
and decided to submit to American agents, latching on to one in particular. She
was totally into Science Fiction and Fantasy, and what I considered the perfect
agent for my novel.

Unfortunately, she did not think so. I was
devastated.

Act II

While submitting to this agent, I stepped
further outside my comfort zone. I joined Twitter and began stalking her (in a
good way, of course! :-), finding out what she liked and didn’t like when it
came to representing an author. I later discovered this was a backwards
approach, but that pearl of wisdom is for another blog.

That decision changed my writer’s life forever.
I was no longer alone. I surveyed the digital landscape and found it filled
with other writers going through similar experiences. I began with baby steps,
connecting with a small group of writers and hiding behind an avatar of
Superman—whose creator was my second cousin twice removed.

I fell down the rabbit hole of social media
just as #SFFPit ended. In its aftermath, I found a tweet offering query
critiques for $10 a pop. Well worth the investment. I respected the woman, and
I learned a lot. She suggested I enter #PitchWars.

From there, I met hundreds of other writers.
Looking at them as colleagues opposed to competitors, I gathered followers by
the dozens, ending up on a communal critique board called GetOfMyLawnCon.

Here, I found the motherlode. Writers critiquing
other writers. A concept I had heard of but never invested in. Another mistake.
Venturing even further outside my comfort zone, I begin interacting with them
directly. Being green at writing, this was a big step for me.

Another aftershock from #SFFPit was the
formation of a critique group. Joining, I lucked out and was paired with a fantasy
writer. Unfortunately for me, but fortunate for him, three weeks into our
critiquing, his book was picked up by a publisher and he had to bow out.

My bubble burst. Deciding this was a sign from the Writing
Gods, I retreated back into my comfort zone. Alone.

Act
III

Then something amazing happened. In revisiting
GetOfMyLawnCon, I stumbled across two writers whom I had been tweeting with since
#PitchWars. We clicked, instantly becoming the best of friends. In another bold
move, I swapped manuscripts with the fantasy writer, then partnered with the
paranormal romance writer. These experiences improved both my writing and critiquing
skills.

From there, I left my comfort zone far behind,
contributing more and more to the writers’ community each week. I began by tweeting
learned advice, cheering on pitchfesters, to finally joining the Social Media
team at PPW. So here I am, expounding upon my journey in a public blog.
Something I would never have dreamed of doing a mere two years ago.

No, this is not an HEA story. My manuscript is
still undergoing revisions, but it is far superior today than when I pitched it
in #PitchWars of 2014. Dissecting and rewriting was difficult, but I now have
help. My goal is to be query ready once more by Christmas.

Denouncement

Writing is best
accomplished alone, but transforming that first draft into a sellable book is
not. Find one or more CPs whom you trust with your literary life. Their brutal
honesty will be more than appreciated. And when you trip over those potholes
along your own “Road to Publication,” they will be there to pick you up, dust
you off, and make sure you continue on to that bestseller’s list.

Before you sub,
research the agents. There are tools like QueryTracker and AgentQuery. I highly
recommend checking out the Twitter hashtag #MSWL. Because, if you’re subbing to
the wrong agent, you’re asking for a rejection.

There are many online writers’
contests and pitchfests available. Contests help hone your craft, pitches help
you find potential agents and publishers. Use both to your advantage.

Check out your local
writers’ convention. There are lots of workshops for the budgeted time. It’s
also a great way to strengthen existing relationships and build new ones. I did
both at PPWC2016.

Above all, don’t become
discouraged. There WILL be highs and lows along this road. Guaranteed. But
you’re never alone.

Nothing great happens to those who never leave their comfort zone.

About the Author: SM Rose found his calling of writing late in life
but attacks it with fervor. He continues to hone his craft on science-fiction
and was a finalist in the 2015 Neoverse Short Story Competition. He is also a
member of the Social Media team for Pikes Peak Writers. He day jobs as an IT
manager at one of top five cancer research and treatment centres on the planet.
When not writing or taming computers, he enjoys the arts of all forms,
especially the movies. If you’re looking to engage, look no farther than
@smr0se on Twitter or SM Rose on Facebook.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

“Deliver me from writers who
say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a
good book. If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for.” ~ Alice Walker

Author Alice Walker, Source Wikipedia

Alice Malsenior
Walker(born
February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and
activist. She wrote the critically acclaimed novelThe Color Purple(1982)
for which she won theNational Book Awardand thePulitzer Prize for
Fiction

Friday, October 28, 2016

PPW member Shannon Lawrence doesn’t
seem to slow down! Another of her incredible short stories has found its way
into the realms of publication. On July 15, 2016 her horror story, “Shifting
Sands” was published in Dark Moon Digest by
Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing (ISBN10: 1943720169, ISBN13: 978-1943720163,
soft cover and ebook). Issue #24 is available on Amazon.

With Columns by George Lea and Jay
Wilburn
And an excerpt from The Train Derails in Boston by Jessica
McHugh!

A fan of all things fantastical and frightening, Shannon Lawrence writes
primarily horror and fantasy. Her stories can be found in anthologies and
magazines, including Under the Bed, Devolution Z, and The Deep Dark Woods. When
she's not writing, she's hiking through the wilds of Colorado and photographing
her magnificent surroundings, where, coincidentally, there's always a place to
hide a body or birth a monster. Find her at www.thewarriormuse.com

Are you a Pikes Peak Writers member and have something to celebrate? Big or small, we want to hear from you. Contact Sweet Success Coordinator Kathie Scrimegeour at ppwsweetsuccess@gmail.com

It
was about the Chinese preference for having male children. I’d written it as part of a series of
humorous accounts from my marriage to a man from Taiwan. It was called “The Importance of a Penis.”

It
received the worst review my work has ever gotten. For your entertainment, here is my dirty
laundry:

“Given
that this is a book club with members accustomed to Chinese Traditions and
Writings, the story felt hackneyed to some, heartfelt to others. Unfortunately the writing was staccato in
style, more akin to disjointed pieces of text stuck together than the expected
flow of a well-constructed short story. While the vocabulary and grammar lacked precision (for example, many of
our readers were turned off by the author’s use of the word ‘hubby’) some of
the analogies and descriptive language seemed unique. Although the basic premise of the story would
be considered solid if indeed it reflected a personal experience, the author
should have paid more attention to its pace and flow. There was general agreement the story lacked
maturity in style and flow.”

La Brea Tar Pits, LA Wiki Free Images

My
first instinct was to find the nearest tar pit and drown myself. Then I reread the review and decided to
preserve my ego by wallowing in the two phrases that seemed positive. After I
fully recovered, I went about addressing the reviewers’ concerns. I also applied some of their recommendations
to other essays in the series.

I
spiffed up the essay, expanded it, and gave it a new title, Dancing with John Wayne. That version received honorable mention in the Writer's Digest Writing Competition.

It became a chapter in a “novel of my life” and took 2nd place in
the Paul Gillette Memorial Writing Contest (PPWC). That novelized version, then entitled Culture Shock, made Quarter Finals in
theAmazon Breakthrough
Novel Award contest. It was given 5-star ratings by Vine Reviewers (top 1,000 Amazon reviewers).

Rejection
is a writer’s workplace hazard. But
there is a way to deal with that terrible review.

Make
it work for you.

About the Author: Karen is an editor, ghostwriter, pitch coach, speaker and award-winning author of novels, cookbooks, and screenplays. She’s written over a dozen solo and collaborative scripts (with Janet Fogg, Christian Lyons and director Erich Toll); each has garnered international, national and regional recognition: Moondance Film Festival, BlueCat, All She Wrote, Lighthouse Writers, Boulder Asian Film Festival, SouthWest Writers Contest, and PPW Contest. Find out more at www.karenalbrightlin.com

Monday, October 24, 2016

My publisher just
sent me a photo of my ARCs. I no longer must call what I have written “a
story,” “a manuscript,” “a novel”—the words I used in my queries and pitches. Now
I can call it a book. But there’s something else in the fusion of delight and
excitement I bask in as I await an announcement of the release date. The
sentiment is bitter-sweet, reminiscent to a stroll through a garden on a bright
September day. Chrysanthemums are blooming, the dew sparkles on the grass
plumes after the night’s storm, and every leaf and berry looks beautiful and
vibrant; but the scent of autumn fills the air and you know the summer is over.

So, what causes
all this brooding when I’m only weeks away from fulfilling my ambition and
getting published?

It took many
drafts before the manuscript turned into the story I envisioned, the tale I
aspired to tell. The cast—the characters—resided in my head throughout the
process, and I had grown accustomed to thinking of my fictional crew as if they
were real people. Her face and smile, his voice and mannerism, the food they
liked, the melodies they hummed…Their fears, joys, heartbreaks, victories…I knew
more about them than I know about some of my friends.

Every detail
popped into my mind whenever I sat down to write a scene. My characters accompanied
me on long mountain hikes, my brainstorming time. The heroine awakened me at
three in the morning:

“Hey, this is what
I’d like to do. Is it very bad?”

Whoa. Would she dare?

She always did.

I was taught that
since our characters exist entirely in our imagination, they possess no will of
their own, their actions are fully under our control, and they will do whatever
we picture them doing. It seems this conception is only partially true. Yes, I
had the power to create these personalities. But once I had my cast, all I had
to do was devote my creativity to conceiving the wickedest fight-or-flight, sink-or-swim,
life-or-death scenarios. Day after day for several years, I let my characters wrangle
with the pressures of the unfolding plot, while I chronicled their struggle.

Day after day. For
several years.

Then, all of a
sudden, it was over. The last line written, the last revision finished. The end.

How happy I was
last summer when the contest edits called for changes in a couple of scenes. I
could immerse myself in the plot again. Experience the characters’ emotional
states. The situation. The setting.

Speaking of the
setting…I’ll miss it too. A sequel will take place somewhere else, and it’s
still in a world-building stage. The new locale is more of an impression, a fluid
vision, a mirage in the process of shaping up into a major element of the
story. The cast is a bunch of strangers I’m getting to know. The new heroine
tries my patience. I gave the role to a secondary character from the original
novel, thinking it would be easier if I at least knew someone in the new crew.
But it didn’t help; it’s as if she’s not used to being the focus of my attention
and refuses to be as proactive as her predecessor.

Of course, the
logical explanation is that I, a hopeless pantser, shouldn’t have tried to plot
that sequel. I don’t enjoy writing a story when I know what’s going to happen. I
crave my characters’ spontaneous dialogues and actions. I want a heroine who
won’t hesitate waking me up in the middle of the night.

So maybe I’ll tear
up the sequel’s outline and start from the beginning.

About the Author: Born in Moscow, Natalia grew up with the romance and magic of Russian fairy tales. She never imagined that one day she’d be swept off her feet by an American Marine. An engineer-physicist-chemist, Natalia realized that the powder metallurgy might not be her true calling when on a moonless summer night she was spooked by cries of a loon in a fog-wrapped meadow. What if, a writer’s unrelenting muse, took hold of her. Two of her passions define her being. Natalia is an orchid expert and she writes dark fantasy.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

“After nourishment, shelter
and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” ~ Philip Pullman

Writer Philip Pullman, Source Wikipedia

Philip Pullman CBE, FRSL is
an English writer. He is the author of several best-selling books, most notably
the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials and the fictionalized biography of
Jesus, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Hooked on Books is a lovely new space in the heart of downtown
Colorado Springs. Shelves of books, a beautiful view out the large front
windows, and a helpful staff make it a great place to visit … and to hold a
book signing.

Ann Perramond (writing as Ann Myers) and Barbara Nickless held a
signing there on October 1st. Ann was celebrating the one-year
anniversary of the first book in her Santa Fe Café cozy mystery series, Bread
of the Dead. The third book in the series, Feliz Navidead, comes out
October 25th.

Barbara Nickless launched her debut novel, Blood on the Tracks, the first in a mystery/thriller series about a railroad cop and her K9 partner. (pictured here with Jim
and Mary Ciletti, owners of Hooked on Books)

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Lots of phrases, buzzwords, slang, jargon,
and perfectly cromulent words are thrown about critique groups on a regular
basis. Newcomers to critique groups can mentally stumble when they hear
something along the lines of, "The POV in your WIP head hops through white
room syndrome, and all of the narrative is written in passive voice with lots
of tense shifts."

POV? WIP? White rooms? Is there padding on
the walls of these white rooms? I feel like I'm going insane! I know I'm tense,
but how is that shifting around?

Well, have no fear. I'm here to help expand
your vocabulary into the writerly world of the critique group.

This month, I'm going to cover R.U.E., aka: Resist the Urge to Explain.

Resist the Urge to Explain:

I'm horribly guilty of this. I've gotten better
over the ten years (where has the time gone?!?) I've been part of critique
groups, but I still open my mouth to explain some things when one of my
critique partners doesn't get it. I usually catch myself and clack my jaw shut
while scribbling my notes. Here's the
premise of why you should R.U.E.: Your words have to stand on their own because
you will be entirely unable to stand over the shoulder of every reader of every
book you sell and explain to them, "No. No. You didn't get it right there. That's not what I meant.
The way you should interpret my words is…."

It's just not possible to do this. If your
critique partners are struggling to understand something, then you need to
clarify things using words on the page, not words passing your lips.

The only exception to R.U.E. is when a
critique partner asks you a direct question of clarification that will assist
them in framing the rest of their critique or feedback. There are times when
it's valid to answer these questions, but also take the question as an
opportunity to clarify your work.

Since I primarily write in the fantasy, urban
fantasy, and science fiction genres, there can sometimes be lots to explain to the reader or critique
partner. If I lay down some thick mythology or world building that doesn't make
sense, then I need to readdress my approach at the descriptions. If I toss in
some far-future tech into a story, it needs to be clear on how the tech affects
the daily lives of the characters. If it's hard science fiction, then the deep
dives into the sciences backing the futuristic predictions need to be
understandable by the "common person" out there.

I don't write much romance, but I've read a
bit of it inside and outside of critique groups. The things that need to be
made clear to the readers are the emotional beats and reactions the characters
are going through. If a particular character smiles when another one enters the
room, we need to know why. Different readers will interpret the smiles in
different ways, and losing that clarity of the emotional response is a good way
to confuse or lose the reader down the road.

If you've heard a phrase or word in a
critique group and you think others should know about it (or you're not sure
what to think of it), drop me a comment below, and I'll add it to my list of
Buzz Words to talk about.

J.T. Evans writes fantasy novels. He also
dabbles with science fiction and horror short stories. He is the president of
Pikes Peak Writers. When not writing, he secures computers at the Day Job,
homebrews great beers, spends time with his family, and plays way too many
card/board/role-playing games.

Monday, October 17, 2016

No, blame me. I can take it. Donnell suggested I write about the benefits and drawbacks of Indie publishing versus Traditional publishing. I’ve published independent books and I’ve published through small presses (and WordFire Press, a medium-sized publishing that is gaining ground). One of Donnell’s many friends published through a big publisher and her readers found some typos. The friend asked her big publisher if they could be fixed, and the big publisher said, “Sorry, girlfriend. Your book is what is. We’ve moved on.” If the friend had Indie published, she could make the changes and re-upload. So, yeah. But before we go any further, I have to be clear. I could write FOREVER on the different avenues and mouse holes and mazes and labyrinths and bear-traps of the publishing industry. But I will say this….

In this day and age, it takes about fifteen hundred dollars to publish a book and do it right. When I say that, I mean you pay for several rounds of editing and you pay for professional cover art. You can do it cheaper, and there are no rules. You could publish your book for free and do it all yourself. Some people warn against this, but I think they’re Nervous Nellies who are terrified that people might laugh at them. Be brave. There are no rules. And if you publish junk, oh well. Lots of junky novels do really well. No one knows anything for sure.So, if you have $1500 in the bank, and if you are willing to risk it, I say Indie publish because you have creative control, you’ll make more money, and this is the big thing: EVEN WITH A TRADITIONAL PUBLISHER YOU WILL MOST LIKELY BE DOING ALL YOUR OWN MARKETING ANYWAY!Notice, MOST LIKELY, I emphasized in all the capital letters because if you get a huge, big, huge publisher (huge), there is a chance the will choose your book to push. If they choose your book to pour the marketing dollars into, then you’ll get a ton of help and you win! Hurrah! But most likely, you’ll be doing it yourself. So, dude, if you are doing all the work, why pay

some nameless corporation 90% of your total profits? And you have to jump through their hoops, follow their rules, and you become a line item on someone’s to-do list. Most likely, no one at the house will care about your book as much as you do. There is the whole status thing. I’m published with Random House. Look at me! Yes, you win the status thing and people will say your name in awe. Wow, she’s a Random House author and she has huge distribution into bookstores. Okay, but how many people are buying books at bookstores?

I don’t know. So if you can afford it, and if you are willing to do the work, going Indie seems like the best bet. Unless… Unless you a can find a publisher that will “help” you market your books. Notice, “help” is in quotation marks. Many will promise to help and won’t. Others will do a few things and call that “help.” Warning! The level of help will vary!I love WordFire Press because they help me market my books by setting up massive booths at comic cons where I can harass crowds until they buy my stories. And I love WordFire because really, it’s a coalition of Indie authors backed by industry professionals with the best contract I’ve seen in the publishing world. Walking away is easy. Staying is even easier.What really makes the most sense is playing the publishing game like craps.In craps, you have all these different bets you can make on the next roll of the dice. If it comes up a six, you’ll win. If it comes up “snake eyes,” you’ll win. If you hit boxcars, bam, winner, winner, chicken dinner. Placing your bet on traditional publishing is betting on the long odds, the weird roll of the dice that hits it just right. Yeah, you might get screwed on a cover, and you might have typos, and you might have issues, but you can manage some of that. Every single time I’ve worked with a publisher, I’ve used my own line editors along with the one the house provided, to make sure my document is as clean as possible. And I went in with open eyes. I’ve talked with other authors at the publishing house and learned what their experience was. I will say this, if you find a small press that will publish your book and they don’t offer any kind of marketing, what’s the point of publishing with them? You can do it yourself. Email me. I’ll set you up with my vendors. If you have $1500 to spend. So there are no easy answers. Being a hybrid author, independent and traditional, makes good sense. I get to place lots of bets for every roll of the dice. And the querying process is good for my spirit. It keeps me hopeful and it keeps me strong.If you want an easier industry, I’d go into health supplements. You’ll make more and it’s easier. But if you love stories, if you are called to write books, then you have a duty to get those books out into the world. By any means necessary.

About the Author: Aaron Michael Ritchey is
the author of The Never Prayer, Long Live the Suicide King,
and Elizabeth’s Midnight. His fourth novel, Dandelion
Iron, the first book in The Juniper Wars series, is
available now from Kevin J. Anderson’s WordFire Press. If you like the first
one, Killdeer Winds, the second book in the series, just hit the
streets. In 2015, his second novel won the “Building the Dream” award for best
YA novel, and he spent the summer as the Artist in Residence for the Anythink
Library. He lives in Colorado with his wife and two ancient goddesses of chaos
posing as his daughters.

For more about him, his
books, and how to overcome artistic angst, visit www.aaronmritchey.com. He’s on Facebook as Aaron Michael Ritchey.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Editor’s Note: Since our
inception, we’ve tried to coincide authors’ quotes
with their birthdays. This is becoming redundant. Therefore, Writing from the Peak is switching to
great, inspirational quotes about writing. Such as this one . . .

“If you don't have time to
read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”~ Stephen King

Friday, October 14, 2016

By Kathie Scrimgeour Congratulations to Catherine Dilts
on the publication of her new mystery novel, Stone Cold Blooded – A Rock Shop Mystery (ISBN: 10: 1-893035-34-4 /
13: 978-1-893035-8, 325 pages, paperback and ebook, adult), was published
October 10, 2016 by Encircle Publications LLC. It is available on Amazon.

When rock shop owner Morgan Iverson’s reclusive neighbor is
blown to bits, she doesn’t believe his violent demise was accidental. Her hunt
for clues collides with an invasion of alien hunters, and the heated campaign
for a small town city council seat.

In book three of the Rock Shop Mystery series, a Triceratops
brow horn may hold the key to solving a prospector’s Stone Cold Blooded death.

Catherine
Dilts is the author of the Rock Shop Mystery series, while her
short stories appear regularly in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. With
a day job as an environmental regulatory technician, Catherine's stories often
have environmental or factory-based themes. Others reflect her love of the
Colorado mountains, fishing, and running.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

For
my second blog for Pikes Peak, I thought I would share why I love history so
much. This might take a while, so be patient. To be fair, I think my love of
history was originally an infatuation with trivia and quirky events that
evolved into love, then obsession.

In
1984 I entered Mr. Perdy’s 7th grade World History class at Woodrow
Wilson Jr. High, in Pasadena, California. (Does anybody remember Jr. high
school?) Mr. Perdy was this really cool guy. Older, jovial, and full of jokes,
he had great classroom management and taught really well. We were about six
weeks into school, learning about the ancient Romans and Greeks, when he
brought a film for us to watch; Cleopatra, starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth
Taylor.

I
had never seen a film in class before, and this film was epic. The costumes,
the plot, (the overacting), I was completely hooked! I think that was the first
time I realized that history was about people. Real, flesh and blood people,
who dreamed, became jealous, failed and succeeded.

For
the rest of that year, my number one question in class was: why?Why
did the Romans declare war on Carthage? Why
did European Christians start the Crusades? Why would anybody live that way? . . . Why?

Many
years later I was at community college, hanging out with the misfits in the
cafeteria, when I discovered that a bunch of them worked at the Southern
California Renaissance Faire. At my faire, the actors are divided into social
groups named after saints. The military guild was called the Guild of St.
Michael (patron saint of soldiers). The Queen’s court, (it was an Elizabethan
faire,) was named the Guild of St. George (patron saint of England).

So
my friends were in the Guild of St. Andrews. They played Scots & Irish. Now
for some reason, this 350 pound black man was always infatuated with kilts and
bagpipes. So I begged and pleaded to be an actor at faire. Long story short, I
worked faire for seven years. These people were my friends, and my family.

They
were also really into peer pressure.

See,
you had to know your history to work the Southern Faire. (That’s what we called
it because there was a Northern Faire in the Bay area.) I was given a freakin’
bibliography of books and was told to read them. Now, no one was going to kick
me out if I didn’t read, but I learned quick that the ignorant were mocked.

I
also learned that every group specialized in its own history. That people would
get into heated arguments about fabric fibers, blade lengths, historical dyes,
and the political motivations of monarchs dead centuries.

Faire
impressed upon me a second time that history was about people; how they lived,
what they did, and why they did it.

In
1994, I got accepted at UC Santa Barbara. (Home of the Gauchos!) While
applying, I discovered that being a double major was pretty simple. I also
discovered they had a Renaissance Studies major. So guess what I did?

Yup,
I doubled majored.

Now
Renaissance Studies was an interdisciplinary major, meaning I could take
classes in

theatre arts, history, art history and English. I took about four
history classes for that major. I also took two theatre classes (on costuming),
two art history classes on Dutch painting, a classics class and an English
class on Renaissance Theater. I read the revenger’s tragedy and the Spanish
tragedy, among other plays. (Both had plots and characters Shakespeare lifted from
Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet.)

Both
majors reinforced what I already knew; history was about people. What UC Santa Barbara did was introduce me to their words.
I read Shakespeare, Daniel Webster, and Frederick Douglass. I read speeches
Vichy French politicians gave imploring their fellow leaders not abandon France
to the Nazis. I held an original pamphlet declaring South Carolina’s secession
from the United States. I read the Sykes-Pico Accords, which laid the
foundation for the Mideast as we know it today.

As
I finished my studies and graduated from college I realized I had something
more important than a bunch of facts in my head, or the ability to write killer
essays. I realized I could now envision how our world got to the place it is
today. More importantly, I knew why.

History
is important because it answers that question. Why is the world in the state
that it’s in? Why does our government implement the policies that it does? Why
are some groups disadvantaged while others flourish? Why do we have an
electoral college, instead of direct elections for President? Why?

When
I’m sad or lonely or angry about an injustice, I’m comforted by the fact that I
am not the only one who has felt this way. Teenage boys in ancient Egypt mooned
over girls they would never kiss. English nobles frequently got in trouble with
banks, and that in spite of their profound faith, the Puritans were wracked
with guilt and fear, just like some of us.

Understanding
that we express the same hopes and fears for our children, make the same
mistakes and carry the same kinds of prejudice somehow makes me feel better.
Like I’m not alone. History makes me feel like we are all in this together.

And,
if you’re really wise, then you can learn
from history. Learn that courage is not the absence of fear, but acting in
spite of it. That things could have been different if this person had gone left
instead of right. That the world we live in was built by courageous, imperfect
people who worked hard for what we have today. That at the end of the day, we
are all human. Flawed and petty, but full of hope.

And
THAT, gentle reader is why I love history. Now tell me why you love history?
Leave your stories in the comments section below.

About the Author: Jason Evans always wanted to be a writer, he just didn't know it. He grew up in Pasadena, California, in the 1980s where he watched way too much television, but was introduced to literature by his grandfather and his favorite middle school and high school teachers. He wasted his youth working at the So Cal Renaissance Faire (a dangerous place because it’s the gateway drug to other historical costumes,). In his leisure time he’s an educator, a writer, and a bon vivant. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara, with degrees in History & Renaissance Studies, a teaching credentials from CSU Los Angeles, as well as a graduate degree from the University of Colorado, Denver. He currently resides in Denver with his wife, the fetching Mrs. Evans, their three dogs and a mischievous cat who calls him his thrall. Find out more about him atwww.jason-evans.net@evans_writer

Pikes Peak Writers

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